Heart of Darkness
by anneikenskywalker
Summary: Continuation of THE ISLAND. What do we really know about Rey's powers? On her quest to become the last of the Jedi, Rey faces some bitter truths and those she loves must face them as well...
1. Chapter 1

_((It may be awhile before I can fully commit to writing this story, but I wanted to at least give you guys a little taste of what is to come. The song is "Lawless" by Diminuendo (Feat. Britt Warner) Enjoy!))_

Leia looked up from the paperwork on her desk and took in a deep breath as she folded her hands in front of her and rested her chin on them in thought.

 _ **Oh, the storm clouds,**_

 _ **Were moving across your eyes….**_

Suddenly, a shadow passed out of the corner of her eye and Leia looked up to see her husband, Han Solo, standing in the doorway, his posture relaxed as he smirked at her from where he leaned on the door frame, dressed in his usual attire and his blaster at his side.

 _ **And I could hear the war drums,**_

 _ **Pounding from inside your mind….**_

Leia's eyes widened and then softened as they met Han's and the old smuggler lifted his chin and gave her a familiar gaze that beckoned her.

 _ **So I Gave up my life for love,**_

 _ **But it still was not enough…**_

Leia narrowed her eyes as she lowered her hands and, placing them on the desk, lifted herself up and slowly walked around it towards Han as he pushed himself off of the door frame

 _ **But it still was not enough…**_

Then, taking a few steps backward, Han turned on the heel of his boots and led the way down the hall.

 _ **But it still was not enough….**_

Leia walked in step behind Han as they moved down one of the lighted corridors of the temporary underground base the Rebels had set up with the help of Lord Estos Norr on Acquin III.

 _ **My heart shattered apart,**_

 _ **With your sanity,**_

 _ **But I won't leave….**_

As they moved, Leia's eyes wandered toward the other offices that lined the corridor and noticed that they were all empty.

And no office aides, communications officers or rebel alliance soldiers scurried past in the corridors like any normal day…

 _ **The stars have scattered across,**_

 _ **A haunted galaxy….**_

 _ **Please….**_

General Organa slowed her steps at the realization, then when her eyes wandered to Han, realized that she would soon be left behind if she didn't keep up with him as he kept at a steady pace, turning at the fork in the tunnels and disappearing.

 _ **Hold on through Heaven and Hell,**_

 _ **Hold onto each other,**_

 _ **Or I fear we won't recover….**_

Leia walked quickly to catch up to him, turning the corner herself and following Han out toward the main hanger.

 _ **On your side, on your...**_

 _ **I'm still on your side…**_

Leia stopped next to Han as she looked around and took in the rebel hanger.

Ships, supplies, communication stations, lighted mapping boards….

But not a single pilot, ground soldier or officer in sight.

 _ **On your side...**_

 _ **I'm still on your side...**_

Where was everyone? Leia was asking herself this question silently when Han touched her arm and nodded toward the main staircase up to ground level.

They locked eyes for a long moment…

 _ **Jump-start the innocent parts,**_

 _ **That once dared to dream…**_

Breaking eye contact and with a reassuring smirk from her husband, Leia started walking toward the stairs and Han followed as she ascended to the top and again, tried to quell her disbelief as she once again walked across a desolate command center toward the large metal bay doors as the large jaw-like structures began to open of their own accord, spilling moonlight into the bay.

 _ **Before the spark diminishes,**_

 _ **From the life you're meant to lead…**_

Leia walked through the doors and into the light without hesitation, soon, taking in the sight of the natural resources of Acquin III and the canyon Rey and Luke had created with their powers, trying to save Acquin III from Imperial Leader Snoke and his army.

 _ **Are you Gonna let it burn out?**_

 _ **Are you gonna let it fade away?**_

Leia's eyes suddenly widened and her face paled as she felt her legs shake beneath her and she fell to her knees as Han came to stand at her side again.

 _ **Fade away?**_

"No…." Leia whispered, a tear forming in her eye, then streaking down her cheek as she beheld a mountain of dead bodies –from the naked eye what looked like hundreds of people—their broken and bleeding bodies stacked haphazardly on top of one another at the edge of the canyon.

Lord Estos, his wife, son, his body guards….

Rebel pilots and officers….

Captain Erso….

Finn….

All among the dead before her.

 _ **On your side, on your...**_

 _ **I'm still on your side….**_

A female figure, dressed all in black with her dark hair braided behind her, who had been standing in front of the human mountain, suddenly thrust out a hand and set the bodies ablaze.

Leia gasped in shock as she watched her fellow rebels and innocents of Acquin III burn before her eyes.

 _ **On your side...**_

 _ **I'm still on your...**_

Leia sucked in a breath as the figured now sensed her presence and turned around to face her.

It was Rey.

When Leia's brown eyes met her niece's, she immediately realized that they were not their normal color.

Nor were they Sith yellow as Leia had seen on occasion.

They now glowed an unusual icy silver that emanated clearly, even hundreds of yards away.

 _ **On your side, on your...**_

 _ **I'm still on your side…**_

Rey flared her nostrils as their eyes locked for another moment and then her gaze shifted to her aunt's right and mild relief crossed Leia's face as she followed Rey's sight line and looked up to see Poe Dameron arrive at her side with his mother, Shara Bay, close behind.

Shira's eyes were glowing the same icy silver as Rey's.

It was then that Leia realized that Shira must have led Poe here as Han had led her….

 _ **On your side...**_

 _ **I'm still on your side...**_

Leia swiftly turned her head to look back to Han, but was taken aback when she looked to her husband and his eyes were glowing silver now as well.

 _ **There, there, it's better late than never,**_

 _ **There's always time to start this over….**_

Leia didn't even have time to recover her senses before Han quickly knelt down to her level and said something in an almost inhuman voice that was not his own….

# # # # # # # #

Leia awoke with a start, sweating under the covers of her canopy bed as her dark chocolate eyes blinked and she caught her breath as she whispered Han's words into the darkness….

"She is coming…"

# # # # # # # #

" _She is coming…"_

Poe's eyes opened immediately and he took in a startled breath, his eyes quickly searching his semi-dark surroundings as he pressed his hands into the mattress of the bed beneath him and he let out a relieved breath when he realized where he was…that he was safe.

Then, suddenly, the words his mother had spoken to him, her unnatural icy silver eyes glowing, resonated with him and he felt the bile rise in his throat as he remembered the mountain of dead bodies burning before his eyes….

Poe slowly turned his head and beheld Rey lying next to him in the darkness of Luke's dwelling on Ahch Tho, sleeping peacefully.

"She is coming…" he whispered into the darkness


	2. Chapter 2

_**((Thanks for returning. Song lyrics featured in this chapter is "Great Wide Open" by 30 Seconds to Mars. Enjoy!))**_

Rey rolled her shoulders, and stretched out her arms – left, then right—as she brought her gaze to focus on the steep, stone steps that led up to the Jedi temple on the hill above the cliffs. Then closing her eyes and taking in a deep breath, let the power that welled inside of her come forward.

Taking a running leap, Rey bounded up the stairs two at a time with incredible speed to the top near the large, heavy, monastery-type doors that guarded the entrance to the sanctuary.

But, she didn't go through...

With another solid leap, Rey flew straight up to the roof, perching there on bended knee for a few moments while taking in the sunrise and letting the breeze from the ocean blow through her hastily braided hair…

Her mother's brown eyes and her father's smile assessing it all.

She could hear the birds calling and feel the light and life of the island radiate up from the ground, through the temple and, in turn, through the roof and into her body.

The Force flowed through this island more powerfully than any place she had found herself so far.

It fed her and kept her balanced.

With a shallow breath, she stood and leaped across the roof top ridge with agile footing, back flipping off of the slope on the other side and sliding gracefully across the luscious grass and letting herself blindly fall over the cliffside, reaching out with that same Force.

Soon, Rey's feet landed noiselessly on the narrow rock ledge below and Rey focused her breathing as she looked down to the ocean waves crashing violently against the shoals below.

After a moment, Rey leaped from her ledge to the next and then the next, not using hand holds to help herself, remaining perfectly balanced in body and mind – closing her eyes once more and letting the Force guide her along the treacherous cliffside.

When she smelled grass again, she leaped high and landed above the cliffs onto the meadow she once trained with her father.

Rey opened her eyes and smirked then, still channeling the Force, summoned her lightsaber from the back of her belt to her right hand, igniting it in one smooth motion.

The silver beam cast light on her face in the semi-darkness, then cast it into shadow again as she began stepping and swiping, going through the training motions her father had taught her.

When she had warmed up, she turned and faced the field of upright stones—each as tall as a person and set there by training Jedi who had occupied the temple centuries before her father was even born—and took off.

Sprinting toward the first stone, Rey flipped effortlessly over it and landed a lightsaber strike on the back of it, before turning and sliding through the space between the two stones next to it, double slashing the bottom of each of the stones as she came to her feet.

She then rounded them to face the fourth stone, a mere two feet away, and cried out as she threw her sword at the stone and it spun violently as it hurtled toward the imagined adversary and sliced the top part of the stone clean off like a head off of shoulders.

Rey's lightsaber came back to her like a boomerang and she leaped over the fallen part of stone to the next, waiting henge, but stopped immediately when she felt something touch the back of her mind…

Rey lowered her lightsaber as she furrowed her brow and closed her eyes to reach out.

But, as soon as she did, she pulled back out of reflex as if burned.

Rey could suddenly feel her eyes change, panging behind her eyelids the way they always did when the darker part of her nature came forward and overtook her.

 _Rey…_ an sweet, but almost inhuman voice sounded in her ears, almost as if whoever or whatever spoke it was close enough to reach out and touch if she spun around.

Rey's now Sith yellow eyes snapped open and she did just that, but saw no one.

# # # # # # # #

There was a silence as Poe leaned forward in the chair at the small stone table in Luke Skywalker's former home in the hillside just below the Jedi Temple on Ach To.

When he finally did speak, his voice, so soft it seemed to echo off of the walls of the small space—the only other interruption to the dead silence surrounding him being the ray of early morning sunlight that streamed in through the tiny oval window and poured itself on Finn, sleeping in a loft bed facing the north wall.

"General…" Poe said, his eyes moving to meet Leia's through the hologram image that R2 was transmitting live, "I don't know what to do…. _tell me_ what to do."

"The dream that you experienced is as much a mystery to me as it is to you, Poe," Leia replied, shaking her head, "I wish I could tell you what to do in _every_ situation, Commander, but I can't give an order on this one. There are some things that we just have to feel out. We can't just go in and blow everything up at the first sign of trouble. That doesn't solve anything, Poe. You know that."

"Yeah," Poe smirked, sitting back with a sigh, clearly disappointed, "But, I think I much prefer an aerial battle where my weapons are depleted mid-fight and I have to improvise with cunning wit and killer charm instead of... well _...this._ This is _feelings._ I've _never_ been very good at those _._ "

Leia chuckled softly, "You'll be _fine_. Just….well, just keep an eye on Rey and see if there is anything she tells you or shows you in _her_ own time. You care about her...you'll figure it out."

"Yeah..." Poe replied, nodding

"Until we know more," Leia added "I don't think pressing her or telling her about the mutual dream we had last night will help _anything_ right now. The First Order is on its last legs and things are… _well,_ things are in flux all over the galaxy. With Luke gone, I'm still not sure how or where Rey fits in to all of this quite yet."

"But, General," Poe lifted sad brown eyes to meet hers, "You saw what I saw…You saw her eyes…You saw the bodies…what she could do –what she will—"

" _Nothing_ has happened _yet,_ " Leia interjected, her voice lowering solemnly, trying to calm Poe and to will her own voice to stay even and calm at the same time, though she couldn't help but remember the terror she had also felt in that same dream.

Leia swallowed the bile that began to rise in her throat, but before she could continue, a small figure walked in front of her.

"Poe," a voice suddenly spoke up and Maz Kanata popped up in the frame of the hologram, blocking Poes' view of Leia's face, " _Nothing_ is set in stone. Rey has not turned into Darth Vader just yet. Listen to Leia. Just _be_ with Rey and take things day by day. Keep in contact, okay?"

"What—" Poe started confused, sitting forward again, "Wait!"

But, Maz interjected, "Over and out, Kiddo!"

Then the hologram snapped off and the image dissolved.

Poe sat back and scoffed and R2 gave a sullen beep in commiseration.

# # # # # # # #

"I suppose I should _thank_ you for that…" Leia said as she brought a hand to her forehead and then pinched the bridge of her nose as she closed her eyes and took in a shallow breath

Maz didn't say anything, she only climbed up into the chair next to Leia at the table, placing her small hand on Leia's arm soothingly.

After a few moments, Leia pulled her hand down from her forehead and turned to meet Maz's gaze.

"At the risk of sounding like a hypocrite," she smirked, her eyes worried and sad all at the same time, "What _should_ I do about Rey? You were good enough to listen to me tell you about my dream, then wait while Poe called in… I suppose I'm needing some validation in what I just told my best fighter pilot, who is trapped on an island with the woman he loves, but who also wields both a powerful light and dark inside of her."

Maz took in a breath and lifted her hand from Leia's arm, bringing it up to adjust her goggles as she considered Leia's words.

"I don't pretend to _know_ or _see_ the future…" Maz said, "What I _do_ see is what is in front of me and what I _do_ know is the Force. I think that what you experience isn't a foretelling of what is to come. I think it is _a warning_ —a warning about darkness—about death and about those we love who get caught in the crossfire of the causes we believe in and fight for."

Leia narrowed her eyes in confusion and so Maz clarified.

"I have consulted the Force and it agrees. We have not lost Rey," she paused and smiled, " _Not yet_. There is too much light in her. We can thank her father for that. But, we must also recognize that thought it frightens us, her darkness serves a purpose also. Luke knew that, too."

Leia couldn't help but sigh in relief and give a small smile of her own, remembering her brother.

"When I first met Rey," Maz continued, "I told her that she knew in her heart that there were those she loved who were never going to come back….but, that there was someone who still _could._ "

Leia quirked an eyebrow

"She thought it was Luke," Maz added, then a twinkle entered her eye, "But, she was _wrong_. He was never lost. The Force spoke of another."

"Then… who was it referring to?" Leia asked, prompting

"Someone who had _yet to die_ ," Maz revealed, the raised a finger as she pointed out, "Someone who Rey loved, who she shares a very powerful connection with—more powerful than she knows—and who, with the help of her power, could live _again_."

# # # # # # #

 _Rey…_

"Dad?" Rey whispered, uncertain

 _ **Is this life that we're living?**_

She tried reaching out with the Force to summon her father's spirit to her from the farthest recesses of the island, but the darkness in her mind blocked her, leaving her mind reeling and blank.

Confused, Rey tried again to push through the barrier, but before she could close her eyes and give it a true effort, she was summoned again.

 _ **Say the prayers of a thousand tongues….**_

 _Rey…_ the voice came in a raspy tone and Rey's eyes flew open once more, immediately and obediently letting her body lead her…

 _ **Is this love some new beginning?**_

Soon, she nearly hurdled off the cliff edge as she followed the direction of the voice. Rey stopped just short of falling over, her feet slipping on the edge and sending pebbles and dirt tumbling below.

 _ **Or a night in our wildest dreams?**_

Through the minimal light and the wind, her yellow irises focused on the vine edged cave entrance etched into the flat cliff ledge below, wet with ocean spray, the cold and darkness radiating out of it.

Neither the serpents of the island, nor the porgs were anywhere to be seen down there.

An ominous sign…

Rey blinked and powered down her lightsaber, placing it back on her hip as she didn't hesitate to make her way down to the cave.

 _ **Into the great wide open,**_

 _ **Across a land of blood and dreams…**_

She took a running leap and when landed at the bottom of the cliff bottom, her footing somehow sure and steady on the wet and treacherous rocks, she didn't hesitate again as she jumped down into the hole, falling like a log into the dark cavern below, barely making a splash in the bright blue, still water.

 _ **I will save your heart from breaking,**_

 _ **Won't you stop, please?**_

Rey came to the surface with a shallow breath and immediately started swimming to the edge.

 _ **Set me free…..**_

Moments later, she came to her feet, after climbing up onto a flat rock formation, and wrung out the end of her braid with one hand as she wiped the excess water from her face with the other so she could survey the cavern.

It was dark, yet lit by a dim light source—from where, though, Rey couldn't tell—and didn't go very deep into the heart of the island—just deep enough that the water pooled, but didn't flood the cavern.

Again, Rey looked over the edge into the water, but saw neither fish nor mammal in the water.

Rey took in a breath…

 _ **I swear to God….**_

The air was crisp and clean and she didn't sense any danger in the cave, just…

Loneliness, cold, and emptiness…

She looked for a sign of someone—surely someone had called to her, had beckoned her.

 _ **I'm the devil...**_

"Hello?!" Rey called out with an even voice, her defenses up, but her stance relaxed and ready like her father had taught her.

There was the sound of water dripping off of the overhangs…

Then, the sound of small rocks being disturbed and the flash of a dark shadow…

 _ **Raise your hands to the sky and praise….**_

Rey whirled around to follow it and found herself suddenly facing a large reflective wall of pure crystal, created over centuries of precious rock growth on the cavern wall.

Most of Rey's reflection itself was darkened, but her eyes – still flashing bright yellow- were clearly visible in the crystal, the cavern seeming to bring out the Sith inside her even more.

 _ **I'm a thief, you're a liar…**_

Rey closed her eyes, partly in shame, still trying to push down that side of herself that the voice seemed to call to and awaken.

 _ **But we live in our wildest dreams….**_

 _Rey…._ the voice said, but in a softer tone now and echoing off of the walls and water in the cavern

Rey's eyes opened and she turned in a circle on her heel again, listening and keeping her senses open.

 _ **Into the great wide open….**_

After a long moment passed and nothing else happened, Rey turned back to face the crystal wall again, smirking in the relief when she saw that her eyes had returned to their normal brown hue.

Then, they narrowed as Rey focused on something …

 _ **Across a land of blood and dreams….**_

A shadow, seemingly behind her reflection, walking toward her…

Rey whirled around to confront the shadow, but found no one behind her.

 _ **I will save your heart from breaking,**_

Confused, Rey, turned back to the wall.

 _ **Won't you stop, please?**_

The shadow was growing taller and more formed as it continued to walk up behind her in the crystal wall's reflection until her own reflection disappeared and Rey saw the shadow more clearly now, defined.

 _ **Set me free…**_

It wasn't a shadow anymore, it was a person.

# # # # # # # #

 ** _October 12, 19 A.B.Y..._**

 _Han hurried up the ramp of the Millenium Falcon, sprinting down the causeway, and hastily threw the switch that illuminated the cockpit as he entered it._

 _ **Set me free ….**_

 _He immediately found what he was looking for and practically dove forward between the pilot and co-pilot seats, pulling his gold plated dice that always hung in front of the windshield, down._

 _ **Set me free ….**_

 _Han palmed them for a moment thoughtfully, before wrapping his fist tightly around them and turning on his heel, racing back down the hallway toward the waiting ramp, not bothering to turn the lights off._

 _ **Set me free….**_

 _Han raced back up the sand dunes and across the back lawn of the home he shared with Leia, much faster than he thought he could have imagined he could move at 42 years-old._

 _Taking the back steps two at a time, he raced through the double doors and down the hallway weaving past a medical droid, Lor San Tekka, and a Senator friend of Leia's who was the wife of a well-known and respected physician who lived nearby._

 _ **Let it out….**_

 _When he made it down the hallway to the bedroom he shared with Leia, he saw two medical droids leave the room, one with bloody towels in a wash bin and one touching a data pad methodically._

 _ **Let it out….**_

 _Han inched passed them through the doorway and found Leia at the bedside of Luke's wife, Mayla, holding the woman's left hand and wiping her forehead with a damp cloth as she encouraged her to breathe, slowly and steadily through the labor pains she was experiencing._

 _ **Go….**_

 _Suddenly, Mayla's breath hitched and she screamed, sitting forward and closing her eyes from the shear pain she was experiencing. Then, almost immediately, she remembered to breath and began to do so methodically, trying to focus her mind and feel Leia's calming presence through the Force._

 _ **It's time to lay down your arms….**_

" _Alright, Mayla, here we go…Everything is fine…" the doctor said, looking up from the end of the bed between Mayla's legs, where blood soaked sheets told a different story than the positive one he was trying to portray, "The second baby is coming now…"_

 _ **Let it out…**_

 _There was a part of Han, as he stood there in the door way, that wanted to open his sarcastic, smart mouth and say 'No Bantha shit, doc.'_

 _ **Let it out...**_

" _No—" Mayla now cried, shaking her head at the doctor's proclamation, tears of pain and grief filling her eyes and streaming down one of her flushed cheeks, "I can't…"_

 _ **Go…**_

 _Mayla then looked to Leia as her sister-in-law tried to sooth her, "Mayla, this baby is going to live, I promise you…It will be alright..."_

 _ **Time to lay down your arms…**_

 _But, Mayla's eyes started to fade and she let out short gasping noises, her eye lids fluttering as she slowly fell back on the pillow._

 _Leia immediately brought her hand to Mayla's forehead, closing her eyes as she tried to reach Mayla through the Force._

 _Seeing this, Han immediately broke his trance as he walked quickly forward to the other side of the bed and knelt down, taking Mayla's hand in his as her dark chocolate eyes fluttered again as she struggled to stay conscious._

" _She's weak," Leia said softly, shaking her head as she moved her hand to the side of Mayla's face, "She's lost so much blood…I can't feel her….She's drifting away from me…"_

 _ **Into the great wide open…**_

" _Mayla….come back…" Han said, urgently and encouragingly, his nostril's flaring in worry as he stroked Mayla's cheek, "Hey, you have to fight. We need you to fight, Honey…Come on…"_

 _ **Across a land of love and dreams….**_

" _Han…" Leia whispered, furrowing her brow, her eyes suddenly looking frightened as she pulled her hand back, "I don't think–"_

 _ **I will save your heart from breaking ….**_

 _The doctor's voice suddenly interjected, low and serious, taking in the scene now from the end of the bed, "Senator Organa, I need her to stay conscious! She needs to push or we'll lose them both! There's not much time. I can do a caesarian, but there's no guarantee we can save the baby or her if worse comes to worse—"_

 _ **Won't you stop, please?**_

 _Suddenly, Mayla sucked in a breath as she came back to full consciousness and moaned in pain, seeming to regain her strength somehow._

 _ **Set me free!**_

" _Oh! Thank the Force!" Leia cried, closing her eyes in relief and Hal suddenly felt himself exhale a breath that he hadn't realized he had been holding until that moment._

 _ **Raise your hands to the sky…**_

 _Leia immediately climbed up on the side of the bed next to Mayla as Han climbed on the bed behind her, lifting his sister-in-law's limp, sweating body against himself as he supported her._

" _Mayla," Han whispered in her right ear, "I've brought you some luck….hold tight to it and we'll meet this baby, alright?"_

 _ **Set me free….**_

 _Then he placed the dice in her right palm and closed her hand around it._

 _Mayla closed her eyes in relief and nodded weakly as she reached up and held Han's arm with the same enclosed fist._

 _Leia too held tightly to Mayla's left hand, and with their encouragement, Mayla moaned again as she sat as upright as she could._

 _When they were ready, the doctor looked up to her from between her legs and said, "And….push!"_

 _Mayla squeezed Leia's hand and Han's arm as she pushed hard._

 _ **Raise your hands to the sky…**_

" _Alright, Mayla….gather your strength….." the doctor instructed, not looking up, keeping his eyes focused on what he was doing_

 _Mayla took in a deep breath through her nose, clutched the dice tighter as she waited out the next contraction, panting as she lay back against Han._

" _Oh…okay…Here comes another one fast, get ready…." the doctor said, surprised, raising his eyes to assess Mayla,_

 _ **Set me free….**_

 _Mayla groaned and pushed back against Han in severe pain._

 _"Hang in there..." Han encouraged in her ear, but was interrupted by the doctor_

" _Mayla…I need you to push now! Push!" the doctor encouraged_

 _With Han's help, Mayla sat up again and clutching Han and Leia once more, pushed hard, grunting with pain and effort._

 _Suddenly, Mayla let out a strangled cry and fell back as the wailing of an infant was heard._

 _ **Raise your hands to the sky….**_

 _Mayla closed her eyes and caught her breath as she leaned back against Han and he smiled, chuckling in relief as he watched Leia leave the bed and assist the doctor with the newborn._

 _In seconds, the cord was cut and the baby wrapped and the doctor walked back over to attend to Mayla's bleeding as Leia moved toward the bed and with tear filled eyes, placed the wrapped infant in Han's outstretched hands, his arms still around his sister-in-law._

 _ **Won't you stop….**_

" _It's a girl…" Leia said, smiling from ear to ear, her eyes moving from Mayla to Han, her husband's eyes looking down with love and awe to the small face inside the blanket as he brought the baby in toward Mayla and laid it against her chest._

 _ **Please?...**_

 _Mayla smirked weakly as the baby yawned and flexed a tiny hand around the gold dice still dangling from Mayla's right hand._

 _ **Set me free….**_

# # # # # # # # # # #

Rey's eyes assessed the stranger as he soon became clear in the crystal. He was no older than her and just as tall, with a shock of dark brown hair that fell over his eyes—eyes that were clear and the color of the green and blue hues of the ocean. The young man's scoundrel smile flashed in amusement and confusion and then he eyed Rey up and down as though he was only looking at her through the other side of a large pane of glass.

He stepped closer and Rey found herself absentmindedly coming closer too, studying him and the dark brocaded jacket, long pants, tall black boots and blaster in a thigh holster on his right side.

He didn't look like a Jedi or a soldier – he looked too renegade to be a First Order goon or bounty hunter.

The young man looked over his shoulder in confusion, at an unseen something or someone, before he said in a familiar voice, "Just what the Hell _is this_?"

Then he stepped forward and tapped on the crystal wall.

Rey's heart skipped a beat and nearly jumped into her throat…

It _couldn't_ be.

"Han?" Rey whispered

But, it wasn't _her_ Han. This was a _very_ young, Han Solo— not the man she watched her cousin murder on Starkiller Base.

Han's eyebrow went up immediately at the mention of his name and he pulled his hand away from the wall as he pointed to himself quizzically, then opened his mouth in surprise and said, "I'm—yeah, I'm…Han Solo…Who—Who are _you_?"

"Holy Crap…" Rey smirked


	3. Chapter 3

"I could say the same thing myself…" the young Han facing her through the reflective rock face smiled in awe, then stepped forward and tentatively reached out a hand toward Rey and whispered, "I know you from somewhere…. _who_ are you?"

Rey stepped forward instinctively, her eyes connecting with Han as she also reached out a hand….

But, the moment before their fingers would have connected on either side of the rock, a figure in a black cloak and a white mask similar to Kylo Ren's appeared between them and Rey felt a shock of Force power go through her and she cried out as it threw her back over the rock face and into the water.

# # # # # # # # #

 _ **Yavin IV, Thirteen years earlier….**_

 _Soaking wet from the rain pouring outside, Luke moved quickly down the hallway of his Jedi Praxeum, climbing carefully over the scattered bodies of his students and the enemy, immediately falling to Mayla's side._

" _Oh… no…." he said softly as he gently took her face into his hands, then his eyes moved down to scan her body, taking in the numerous saber wounds through her chest and side._

 _He immediately knew they were fatal._

" _No….Please…no…" he whispered, closing his eyes_

 _Suddenly, Mayla's eyes fluttered and she took in a shallow breath._

 _Shocked that she was still alive, Luke pulled her closer into his arms as she smiled weakly when her gaze focused on him._

" _My husband…." she whispered and Luke's face crumbled as she quipped, "Late for dinner….as usual…"_

" _I'm sorry…" Luke said, the tears forming in his eyes as he leaned forward and placed his forehead against hers, "I'm so sorry—"_

" _This—this was not your fault…" Mayla interjected her voice barely above a whisper now as she weakly placed a bloody hand on Luke's hair and he lifted his face to look at her again, "Ben…."_

 _Luke narrowed his eyes as Malya took in a ragged breath and continued, "Ben…he started in the dormitories. I was in the garden with Rey….he took the little ones first. I heard their cries—"_

" _Rey?" Luke whispered, his eyes narrowing, "Mayla, where is she?"_

" _I think so. ….She….I had her hide while I tried to fight him off… when I saw the others approaching…. "_

 _Luke sighed in relief, thinking of Rey's safety, but suddenly felt Mayla grasp his jacket hard._

" _Luke, Listen to me….she's more powerful than she knows…" Mayla said, tears coming to her eyes, "She's stubborn, just like her father—she tried to save me…but…."_

 _Mayla trailed off in that moment, fighting off fatigue and unconsciousness, but Luke's eyes widened at her words and he turned and looked over to the fallen bodies of the five Knights of Ren circled around his wife._

 _He could see it now—their bodies had been touched by magic, not a lightsaber._

 _Sith magic._

 _But, his wife hadn't practiced it years…_

 _And the rain storm…._

 _It wasn't any ordinary storm._

 _Through the Force, he could feel the electricity in the air now._

 _Somehow, in that moment, he suddenly knew._

 _Luke's eyes immediately moved to his wife's own wounds._

 _There were four stab wounds—two through her upper chest, two through her lower abdomen and one through her side._

 _Each would exactly match the number of fallen attackers – it looked like each fallen knight had gotten a hit before meeting their fate._

 _But, there was something else…._

 _What looked like a terrible burn, charring of the skin, that could be seen creeping out of the cuff of his wife's long shirt sleeve._

 _When he placed a hand to examine it, Mayla practically bit back a scream._

 _Luke followed the burn line up her arm and gently pushed back her shirt collar to reveal more charred skin that ran from her hairline, down her neck and shoulder and into her jacket in a strip at least six inches wide._

" _Rey…" Luke whispered in disbelief_

 _Mayla closed her eyes in pain and nodded slowly and weakly…. "But, you can't ever tell her….she can never know."_

 _Luke's eyes then scanned to the floor and fell upon a cross blade lightsaber lying next to his wife, mere inches from her open and outstretched hand….a lightsaber that had belonged to one of the Knights of Ren._

 _His eyes quickly moved back to his wife and the lightsaber wounds—noticing suddenly, how hasty and clumsy they were …_

" _You did this to yourself?" Luke suddenly asked in disbelief, his voice shaking_

 _Mayla nodded, her lip trembling as she beheld the look of shock and horror on her husband's face_

" _Why?" he gasped, looking over her body_

" _She—she couldn't control it, Luke….it's not her fault….she doesn't know what she is…the darkness inside of her," Mayla sucked in a breath, then continued, "No one can know what happened to me... that it was her...I had to re-write my story…" then her face crumbled with emotion, "This was something my real father never got to do for me…But, I can do it for Raiyah, so that she won't grow up the way I did...with everyone looking at her like she's some kind of monster."_

" _Mayla," Luke said, looking up to her meet her gaze, tears welling in his eyes_

" _There has been an awakening…Snoke—Snoke will sense it. He'll come—he'll come for her. You have to protect her. You have to take her far away from here and never look back—"_

" _No," Luke said softly, his face falling, his grip tightening on her_

" _I died defending this Praxeum. I died by a Rennian blade. That is the story you will tell…" Mayla gasped, struggling for breath, "Promise me. And promise me that you won't let her fall to darkness….not like I did. You have to take her somewhere he'll never find her…even if that means you'll never see her again…You have to promise me, Luke."_

 _Luke's face started to crumble as he felt his wife's bloody hand weakly touch his cheek as she struggled to focus her gaze on him now, the internal bleeding causing her to fade quickly._

" _Promise me, Luke…" she whispered, "Promise me…"_

 _Suddenly, Luke's face fell as he watched the life suddenly leave Mayla's eyes as her head fell back and her eyes glazed over and the last words left her lips in an even softer whisper._

" _Promise… me…"_

 _Luke closed his eyes, his face crumbling and tears streaming down his face as he cried out and immediately he pulled his wife's lifeless body to his chest, holding her tight to him as he whispered with a trembling voice into her ear._

" _I promise."_

# # # # # # # # #

 _ **Ahch To, 12 BBY….**_

"Han!" a familiar, but distorted voice called from somewhere in the distance, " _Han!_ "

Suddenly, a Wookiee call sounded and Han eyes fluttered.

"Han!"

Han tried to move, but his body was numb. He tried lifting his head from where it rested on the wet bedrock but he instantly felt sick the moment he did.

Swallowing the bitter bile in his throat he tried something simpler – turning over.

As he did, he felt the water soaking through his pants and jacket from where he had fallen back onto the cavern's rock surface.

His hair was wet too, but there was something else….

Han groaned as he saw, out of the corner of his eye, blood mixed in the water that ran through the indentations of the rigid rock under him like a miniature river.

He must have hit his head when he was tossed back by—by—well, by whatever that creepy thing in the mask was.

Han felt dizzy as he slowly tried to bring himself to his knees, the sickness in his stomach coming back….

But, he fought it off once more and blinked as he looked up toward the hole where he had originally fallen through and landed in the cavern's water source.

"Han!" the voice called again, but this time it sounded clearer

It was Lando.

A wookiee's call sounded not long after—Chewie

They were looking for him.

"Here!" Han cried out weakly, his voice breaking and he closed his eyes as he took in a breath.

Yikes! It hurt to breathe.

Suddenly he wondered if the beautiful young woman he had seen in the reflective surface of the cavern wall had taken a hit like this, too…

But, he didn't have time to dwell on that now.

Han slowly brought a stiff arm up and touched his right side tenderly – must have cracked a rib or two.

 _Come on, Han…_.he thought to himself _, One good yell. Let them know where you are._

Sucking in another painful breath, Han closed his eyes and cried out, "Down here!"

He gasped when it was over, tears threatening his eyes from the pain, but he used the surge of adrenaline from it to try and, unsteadily, bring himself to a standing position.

With his left hand, he reached back and grimaced at the blood that trickled from his head and now coated his fingers and palm– he must have hit it when he had been thrown back.

Lord knew how long he had been out… No wonder Lando and Chewie were looking for him.

Han suddenly heard Chewebacca make a loud mewling sound that no doubt was to alert Lando and moments later, the light that shown through the hole above him darkened and Han looked up to see two figures—one with a flowing cape and one with a mound of hair—above him.

"Han?!" Lando cried out

"Yeah!" Han shouted again, then groaned in pain

Chewie gave a relieved growl

"How did you get down there?!" Lando cried incredulously, "The booty is up here!"

Han sucked in a big breath then called out facetiously, "Well, you know… this dark, dank hole looked _so_ inviting I thought I'd come down here—you know, see some dancing slave girls, take in dinner and a show…." then his voice grew angry… "HOW THE HELL DO YOU THINK I GOT DOWN HERE, LANDO?! I FELL!"

"Alright….Alright!" Lando called down rolling his eyes, then he touched Chewie on the shoulder and the Wookee turned and took off running away from the cavern hole, "Chewie is going back to the ship to get something to haul you out of there! Are you hurt?!"

"Hit my head…A few cracked ribs, I think!" Han shouted, his voice growing weary and raspy, "But, I'll live."

"Well….you won't just be _just ' living'_ when we get you out of there, boyo! You're going to be living like a King!" Lando cried, suddenly producing three large objects and holding them up to the light.

They were three, large, leather bound books with ancient engravings marking the covers and binding and Han instantly knew what they were.

"You found them…." Han whispered, a small smile crossing his face, "You son of a bitch….you found them…."

Han looked down, shaking his head in disbelief….not that he really believed in all that Force mumbo jumbo….but, _the original Jedi texts—_ the entire written word of the first Jedi in the galaxy and the beginning of the order itself!

It had taken a lot of time, research, bar hopping and mild torture of low level goons to find were the Jedi had hidden the texts – and they actually had to shake off a few Jedi that had been on their tail as they they left Corellia—but it was all worth it now because Lando's buyer was willing to pay a pretty penny for sure.

Suddenly, a loud thudding noise echoed through the cavern and Lando groaned from somewhere above him.

Han immediately raised his eyes up to the cavern hole above and they widened when he saw Lando fall to the side and disappear out of view.

"Lando?!" he called out, then gasped in pain as he stepped forward, unsure what to do

Suddenly, darkness covered the hole and Han saw a smaller figure that soon materialized into a teenage boy about fourteen years-old.

"Captain Solo…." he said, his voice sounding much older than his fourteen years as he held up the texts, "We need to talk."


End file.
